


Least Of All, Nic

by Aloevea



Category: Less Like Life, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Anikate is another character, But also badass adventurer, Cinderella Elements, Dreamsharing, I have no idea what I'm doing, Kat is best girl, King Goldie, Major Character Injury, Multi, Nic plays ultimate wingman, Nobody dies I swear to Anikate, Ok technically Anikate is a god, Princess Miral, Racism towards catgirls, Ship anatomy, Slow Burn, Technically all OC's, Trans Female Character, We do not stan the inkeeper, all original characters - Freeform, as in really slow, by which I mean Lily is Cinderella, i should really stop talking now, it takes a while tho, like way too much of it, that means what I think it means right, this isn't even on youtube yet, war happens ig
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:55:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27108328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aloevea/pseuds/Aloevea
Summary: Nic was almost ordinary, besides being a homeless, friendless outcast orphan. The only two people he knew were his dead grandma and the girl named Miral who came to him every night in his dreams...but being imaginary, she didn't count as a friend.Then the village declares him a witch, and suddenly he's whisked off by two adventurers he meets in the middle of the forest across an ocean, to a kingdom where war is brewing.He never thought something like this would happen to him, Nic, the most ordinary of boys...but maybe he's a little more different than he thought...
Relationships: Kat Glich/Sera Eritz, Lily Wolf & Vlad Becker, Lily Wolf/Goldie Boer, Nicolae Siu & Miral Byrch, Nicolae Siu & Vlad Becker & Lily Wolf, Nicolae Siu/Vlad Becker
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

Nic pressed against the wall, his breath coming hard and fast. He'd only ever been kind to the villagers, but when the daughter of the mayor had started to despise him everyone else had, also. And now, they were out for blood, and they would find him. Nic knew it would happen, because his fiery red hair was the opposite of camouflage, especially among the dry, colorless town he'd grown up in. Everything within the border of the village was brown and gray, with some dull green here and there. The personalities were much the same. And Nic couldn't get out, he had no supplies and only the barest survival skills. Besides, it was the only home he'd ever known. And now it wanted to kill him.

Nic's heart beat faster and faster. He could hear the voices of the angry townsfolk and see the flickering orange light of their torches. There was nowhere for him to go. As he sank to the dirt floor of the shack he'd taken cover in, hope seemed to drain from his body, and everything seemed to slow down as the realization sank in.

He was going to die. They had already cut him in several places across his chest and arms. He would be tied up and dragged to the courthouse, then accused of witchcraft and burned. It was how things were done, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Footsteps, heavy footsteps, thudded up the dirt road.

"This is it," Nic thought. "Someone's found me."

Someone burst through the woven straw door. As the person looked around, Nic tried to blend into the shadows and failed. The broad shoulders and nut-brown hair of Maria the innkeeper were silhouetted in the moonlight until she grabbed his shoulders and shoved him out the door.  
Nic went limp in her hands. After all, there was no point in resisting- he was pretty strong but nowhere near as strong as her.  
"What are you doing, you idiot," Maria growled. "Move, move! Before they see you!"

"What-" Nic squeaked.

"You've got no time! You have to run!"

"You're not...helping them?"

"No, course not! I always had a soft spot for you, Nicolae. And the mob is thirsting for blood."

Maria pushed him across the bridge that marked the boundary of the village.

"I can go no further, Nicolae. I have to get back to my inn, make sure that they know I was there. But they can, and so you have to run. Run, Nicolae, and don't stop until you're as far away from this place as you can be.

Nic wasn't sure what had just happened. But he did know that he had to run. So run he did- out of the village, past the wooden fence that marked the border, into the dark forest.

Branches tore at his face, and he was half-blind with tears. He didn't have time to process what had happened in the past week, and so he shoved it to the back of his mind.

For hours, it seemed, there were people with torches and pitchforks following him. His legs stumbled blindly over rock and root, and he ached with exhaustion and hunger. Everything blurred together. Suddenly he was aware of the earth pressing against his cheek, and then he knew nothing but darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *screams in formatting*


	2. Chapter 2

Nic faded in and out of consciousness for two more days. Images of fire, of people, screaming and running chased through his mind, but he barely noticed it. He was too hungry and tired and hurt to do any more than lie there.

The next time his eyes opened, it was only for a second. There was a girl standing over him, looking worried. Her long, dark blonde hair brushing his face felt like being touched by ghosts, and he heard voices as if from somewhere far away.

"...too weak to move. What do you think happened, Vlad?"

"He's been like this for a while. I think we should take him with us-"

"Wha- it's too dangerous!"

"Well, we can't just leave him here. And all the towns will..."

The voices faded out again, and Nic again saw nothing but blackness.

When he finally woke, he was leaned against a tree and wrapped in bandages.

"Where-" Nic broke off into fits of coughing. His voice sounded like rusty pipes rubbing against each other, and it really hurt to breathe.

"Ah good, you're awake!" The girl from before was sitting on a log beside a blazing fire. It was night, and there was somebody asleep across from him, although Nic couldn't see their face.

The girl smiled. "Don't try to talk- it's been days since you've last had any water. I'm Lily, by the way."

Nic stopped trying to say something and stared at Lily instead. He'd never seen someone who looked like her before. Living in the village, everyone had similar features. They had flat faces, large noses, and thin lips. They weren't ugly, but they were also all the same. Nic was the exception: with his flaming red hair and petite stature, he'd always stood out. When he let anyone see him, that was. Here in front of him, however, was someone so different from what he'd seen the rest of his life if couldn't help but stare.

Lily's features were slightly pointed, like an elf. Her hair seemed to float around her face like a halo, and with the combination of the firelight and the moonlight, she looked otherworldly. Her clothes were brown and sensible for traveling, but they were made so differently to Nic's own that they seemed formal and elegant.

Lily was staring too but in a different way. She was looking at Nic as if he were a puzzle she couldn't quite figure out. Nic much preferred this to being glared at by a townsperson, but it was still awkward.

Lily coughed awkwardly. "Um. I should probably explain, but I'm not very good at that, and I don't want to wake up Vlad..." She glanced at the sleeping person. "Get some rest until morning. Trust me, I want answers about what's going on as much as you do."

It didn't take very long for Nic to fall asleep, even though the pain was still shooting through his body. For some reason, he felt the safest he had in years. He didn't have time to try and understand why before slipping back beneath the veil of sleep, however, so he simply gave in to it and sank through the dark.

Lily and some unfamiliar deep voice were laughing when Nic woke up fully.


	3. Chapter 3

Nic groaned softly. His whole body seemed to hurt, and he was really hungry and thirsty, but at least he could make noise without experiencing utter hell.

Lily turned around. "You're awake again! Good, we can finally get some food into you."

The other person turned around and looked curiously at him, and Nic's heart sped up.

Sitting there was the most beautiful person Nic had ever seen.

His features were different enough to Lily's that he doubted they were siblings, but they had the same slightly pointed, delicate elven look to them, and his eyes...they were pink. Not pink like he hadn't gotten enough sleep or like he was sick, but the iris was literally magenta. Lily's were less literally magical looking, but they were clear and pale blue and had a gleam of mischief. Nic shivered. There was no telling if his life was in danger or not, this was no time to be flustered over a pretty boy.

Lily pushed a bowl of what looked like brown and green sludge, but smelled really good, into his hands. Nic said nothing, but his eyes wandered over every detail of the campsite.

The fire was low and mostly embers now, and there were two horses tied up near Lily. One was fiery, black, and large, and the other was slender and pale gray. They were asleep now, but the black one was waking. Lily and the other hadn't been here very long, from the looks of it.

Lily noticed his silence. "Are you alright? We don't mean you any harm."

The person coughed. Lily blushed with embarrassment. "Oh, this is...Sir Vlad."

"I'm just as noble as you, Lily," Vlad laughed. It was a nice laugh, but Nic was still afraid. "I renounced all that when I ran off for adventure."

Lily scrunched up her face comically and pretended to be deep in thought. "Ah yes. You are but a simple peasant, Vlad son of Altrian."

Vlad turned deep red and looked at his feet. Lily looked around and realized Nic hadn't eaten his food. "It's not poisoned, you know. We really mean you no harm, um, you. What's your name? I don't think you ever told me.

Nic squeaked, then corrected himself. "N-Nicolae. But everyone calls me Nic."

Lily squinted. "I've never heard that name before. Where are you from?"

"The v-village."

/>

"What village? There's so many, and this forest is huge."

Nic took a deep breath. Stuttering from fear wasn't helping his situation at all. "I don't know exactly where it is. Or where I am right now. Or who you are."

Lily grinned. "We're adventurers, brave and true. Or something like that. And you're...somewhere. We know just as much as you do about our current location."

Vlad looked up from his food. "There's a bit more to it than that, and you know it, Lily."

"Well, yes, but it's all very funny. We're headed towards my doom, and coming from the only place I've called home. But also, headed towards Vlad's home, and coming from Vlad's doom. Or something like that."

Nic, distracted by Lily's words, raised the bowl to his lips and took a sip. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until then but soon had drained the bowl. Lily smiled at this. "I'll explain who we are if you explain who you are afterward."


	4. Chapter 4

Nic nodded silently. He was curious to hear what they had to say. Lily began.

"As I said before, we're adventurers. We're headed towards the capital. I called it my doom because it probably is that- I've committed too many crimes over the past year to be given a pat on the back and a bowl of soup anywhere I go. But our contact is there, so we have to go."

Nic paled. He'd gotten himself in with a group of thieves- or worse, murderers. Lily saw his face and laughed awkwardly.

"I know what you're thinking, and no, we're not that kind of people. Our job is to recover artifacts, basically. We only steal from the people who deserve it. Also, from the people who didn't get the relics fairly themselves."

Nic relaxed a little, but his guard was still up. He'd have to ask his friend about this as soon as he could and see what she thought. Lily continued.

"We're on our way to the capital to give some kind of special rock that belonged to a famous witch to a friend of Vlad's who works at a museum."

Vlad nodded emphatically, his mouth full of stew.

"Anyway, that's our story. Now, why were you lying on the ground?"

Nic swallowed. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience to remember, but eventually, he'd have to face it...so why not now?

"It's..not a very nice story," Nic began hesitantly. "I grew up with my grandmother. She knew so much, about plants and animals, and she'd teach me all about the forest. She died eleven years ago when I was nine. The villagers had always come to her for guidance...They started coming to me instead. I was never as good as her at things like that- I could identify plants, but I didn't even know where to start using them for medicinal purposes. The people mostly ignored me after they discovered my incompetence. I managed to survive, although how I don't know. When I was old enough, I helped people with small jobs, things where I could stay out of sight. Life was...fine. Nothing too terrible ever happened, although there were some people who really didn't like me... until I was accused of witchcraft. It-"  
Lily choked. "Whoa, what? Wait for a second- WITCHCRAFT? That's pretty serious. What happened?"  
"I've always been good with animals. I may not know every plant and its healing properties, but the woodland creatures...respond to me. It's not like I can talk to them, more like...I know what's bothering them, what's making them happy. I can stop them from doing stuff."  
Lily raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like elf magic."  
"It's not, I swear," Nic assured her. "I'm just an observant person who likes animals and learned a lot from someone very wise. I guess to someone else, someone who didn't know me- and no-one in my village did- would think it was witchcraft."  
"So what happened?" Lily asked.  
"There was a man in my village...Andrew son of Lorna. I don't know how long ago it was- I don't know how long it's been since I ran away. But it was recently. It was a hot day, and he was bored. So he tried to beat me up. And he had grabbed me and I-"  
Nic stopped, and had to take a deep breath before continuing.  
"I screamed something. I'm not sure what. But there was a mother wolf and her pups, and when I screamed it startled one of the pups, who jumped at him, and well...mother wolves are protective of their young. There were witnesses. It looked like I'd made that wolf attack, even if he wasn't harmed at all..."  
Lily's eyes were the size of dinner plates, and Vlad's mouth was wide open. Lily spoke first.  
"That's...wow. What did they do after that?"  
Nic looked up at her. She didn't seem disgusted, so he continued.  
"There was a riot. They wanted me to burn, and I only just managed to escape. I hid in one of the houses, and the blacksmith found me. She told me to run, and so I ran until I collapsed. You know what happened after that."  
Lily grinned. "That's quite a story. It doesn't quite top, say, fighting a bearsnake during a sandstorm (Which I have done, by the way), but still quite impressive."  
Nic bowed. He was starting to feel at home.  
The three sat there talking about things for hours until it was time to sleep. Nic still found himself tired, even after all the sleeping he'd been doing recently, and so sank gratefully into the blanket Lily offered him. A few minutes later, he was sleeping.

Nic dreamed he was standing at the bottom of a hill, looking up at the clouds. For a few minutes, he just stayed there, breathing in the scent of clover, until a voice came from behind him.  
"You. You are ridiculous."  
Nic turned around to see the girl standing behind him, and his face broke into a grin.  
"Mir...long time no see!"  
She strode down the hill. "You were gone for a week! I was so worried!"  
"Ah yes. Something came up."  
"Something that prevented you from SLEEPING? Must be important."  
"Not sleeping, just dreaming."  
Nic explained to her what had happened. They'd discovered long ago names weren't processed by the dream, so Lily and Vlad remained nameless.  
When he was done, she sank to the ground. "Wow. I missed out on a lot, huh."  
"It's fine though because now I'm dreaming regularly again."  
When he was five, Nic had started dreaming about Miral. She was a character he'd made up in his mind- but still, his best friend. He told her everything.  
Miral took his hand. "Now...do you want to fight some monsters?"  
Nic and had power over the dream- since he was conscious, they could do whatever they wanted. One of their regular hobbies was fighting nightmares.  
They did this until Miral faded into the dream for the night, and Nic woke up. Lily and Vlad were talking about the weather.  
"It's too cold- we'll have to go around," Vlad was arguing. "Especially now that winter is coming. We'll all freeze to death!"  
"I know this person," Lily argued back. "She has good taste in ships, and she knows the captain. Trust me on this- it'll be fine."  
Vlad grumbled a bit more, then continued to pack up. Nic rather suspected he'd tried to fight with Lily about things before and had host pretty badly.  
Lily saw that Nic had woken up and smiled. "Oh good, you're awake. I have something to ask you!"  
Nic yawned. "What is it?"  
"Do you want to come with us? On our quest, I mean. Or quests. Although I guess it's not really so much of a quest, more of an adventure and part of it is already over, and- well, what I'm trying to say is...do you want to join our adventuring team?"  
Nic's eyes widened. "I- of course, I'd like to! I've never been on an adventure before, but I'd really like to."  
Lily grinned widely. "Yes! I knew it. Welcome to the team! More like a trio, though. It's only the three of us I suppose."  
Vlad and Nic snickered. Lily punched them both lightly on the shoulders. 

They made it on horseback to the trading village by sundown, then split up. Lily went to go trade for supplies, and Nic and Vlad tried to get a room in the inn.  
"No, we want just one room. Three people, that's right." Vlad was trying to explain to the innkeeper what they wanted.  
The innkeeper didn't understand. "You want one room each for three people?" He said, scratching his head. Nic rolled his eyes and looked out the window.  
It was raining hard, and most people had taken shelter in the numerous shops that lined the main street, but there were a few figures outside.  
Nic squinted. There seemed to be some kind of commotion going on in the middle of the street.  
One person seemed to be gesturing wildly to another, then turned to a third and handed something to them. The second figure didn't like this and tried to grab it back. The third snatched their arm back just in time and strode over to the inn. Nic walked back over to Vlad just as the door burst open.  
A gust of rainy wind swept over Nic and Vlad as the chatter died away and someone stepped into the inn, silhouetted by a burst of lightning.  
The person was petite- as small as a child- with piercing orange eyes, curly brown hair pulled loosely upon her head, and...cat ears.  
Nic gaped as she came up to the bar next to him and Vlad, who had just managed to secure a room. The innkeeper glanced up briefly, then handed Vlad their room key and commenced cleaning dirty glasses.  
"One room, please," the stranger asked.  
The innkeeper snorted. "I don't serve filth."  
"ExCUSE me?"  
"I said, I don't serve filth. Find somewhere else to spread your lies."  
"And I said, I'd like one room. So one of us won't be getting what they want."  
Nic watched with wide eyes. What was happening? Why had the innkeeper refused to serve this person?  
The person made a growling sound in the back of their throat. Somebody shouted from the back of the room. "Give the woman a room! There's nothing wrong with their kind."  
The innkeeper snorted again.  
"Thieves and murderers, the lot of them. I'd wake up with my throat slit and my gold gone!"  
The stranger's hands were clenched into fists so tight Nic thought maybe her palms were bleeding.  
Vlad started to head up to their room but stopped when he saw Nic wasn't following and gave him a questioning look. Nic motioned that Vlad could go up without him- he wanted to see what happened.  
A few seconds after Vlad had disappeared up the staircase, Lily burst into the inn. The stranger's jaw dropped. "Lily?"  
Nic managed to catch all of Lily's packages as she collided with the stranger at top speed.  
"Kat?" Lily gasped. "I can't believe it! What're you doing here?"  
"Being refused a room at this inn, apparently," Kat grumbled. "What about you?"  
"Trying to make my way to the capital. Got some important stuff for Cody and the museum here."  
Lily whispered something to Kat and she whistled. "Wow. He's going to love that."  
Nic coughed slightly and Lily blushed. "Oh, right. Kat, this is Nic."  
"Um. Hi," Nic said.  
"Greetings," Kat said, sweeping a deep bow. "I would introduce myself better, but I'm obviously not wanted here," she muttered, glaring at the innkeeping, who glared back with equal fervor.  
Lily turned quickly towards the innkeeper and muttered a few words, then handed him a stack of gold coins. His glare stayed on his face the whole time, but in the end, he nodded shortly and continued cleaning the glasses. Lily grabbed Kat and Nic's hands and dragged them up to their room.  
There was only one bed in the room, but Vlad had set up some kind of portable cot in the corner. When the three of them came in, he looked in confusion at Kat, and then at Nic. Nic shrugged and sat down on the bed next to him.  
Kat groaned as she sat down on the cot. "I've been walking for days," she said weakly. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't gotten me in- collapsed in some bush somewhere, probably."  
"Where are you going from here?" Lily asked.  
"I'd planned on heading to Altria, but I have no idea how. I don't have enough gold to get passage on any of the ships docking here, and the only other way around is through the cliffs.  
Lily stared at her. "So you really don't know."  
"Know what?"  
"The Lady Nikkei is in the harbor right now. Kat...Sera's here."  
Kat stopped moving very suddenly. Nic spoke up.  
"Um, who is Sera?"  
"She's the owner of the ship that's taking us to the capital, Altria. And Kat is also courting her."  
Vlad burst into laughter. "Aha! I've been trying to get her to tell me who her beau is since last summer when she started acting oddly. I should have known it was Lily's mystery friend from her childhood!"  
Nic started to laugh too, and so did Lily. Kat was blushing too hard to say anything but still punched Vlad lightly on the shoulder.  
They spent the rest of the evening playing cards.  
When night fell, they arrived upon a dilemma. There were only two places to sleep and not enough space on the floor for another person.


	5. Chapter 5

Kat shrugged about this and said she'd be happy to share it with anyone. Nic, who had mostly slept on hard-packed dirt or shared a single pile of hay with at least four people all his life, did the same.  
Lily and Vlad, however, were feeling increasingly awkward.  
Vlad had always had a bed all to himself, and while he didn't object to physical contact it felt strange for him. Lily, on the other hand, had spent many nights in trees, alert and ready for anyone to DARE attack her. She'd gotten used to being in close proximity to people ever since she met Vlad, but had still had plenty of space for her own.  
Finally, they settled that Nic and Vlad would share the cot, while Lily and Kat would share the bed. It wasn't really a competition for the bed- the innkeeper didn't really care about how comfortable his customers were, so the bed was very low quality.  
That night it was cold- colder than the past nights had been, true winter- and Nic found that he was grateful for the extra heat. As the wind whistled through the large cracks in the walls, strange moonlight shadows from the tree outside the dirty window played across the wall. Nic nestled closer to Vlad and shivered. He knew there were no man-eating bearsnakes outside (Lily had told him all about the strange, desert-dwelling creatures) but the wind still howled.   
Nic fell his eyes getting heavy and yawned. Tomorrow he would finally see the ocean.

That morning, Nic woke up feeling excited. His dreams had all been about flying that night, and he was ready for adventure. Lily seemed to have the same bounce to her step, and though Vlad seemed to have less energy Nic could tell he was eager to get back on the road too.  
Kat was getting increasingly nervous. Lily explained in whispers to Nic that Kat hadn't seen her beau since Sera had sailed away a year ago and wasn't sure how to feel. Nic thought he understood but his growing enthusiasm to see the ocean pretty much drowned out everything else.  
As the four people walked down the street, Nic could hear a loud crashing. He closed his eyes and remembered his grandmother's shells- the twin conch shells she'd hold up to her ears often. She told him it was to remember the seaside town she came from. This sounded like that...a constant rushing and crashing in a pattern that seemed almost musical. He saw Lily's eyes light up and she started running. Nic ran after her and the two sped their way down the street as the ground beneath them got more and more sandy.  
From where the street ended and the beach really began, Nic could see the ocean. It was like a vast blue-green plain, but constantly rising up and breaking against the shore. Bits of it shone in the morning sun.  
Lily stopped here and turned to him. "Just to make sure- you can swim, right?"  
Nic nodded.  
Lily ran into the water, splashing and laughing. Nic walked down the dock, looking for the Lady Nikkei. Vlad had said that rowboats belonging to ships would share the name as their mother ship.  
Nic spotted the rowboat easily. For one thing, it was quite a bit smaller than the others. For another, it was painted bright green- a stark contrast to the plain wood of the boats surrounding it. Nic recognized the green for some reason...but before he could think from where, Vlad and Kat caught up with him, and Lily climbed out of the water, soaking wet but with a glowing smile.   
Nic peered into the rowboat. The boat was empty other than some kind of food wrapped in leaves, a blanket, and two oars. Kat slumped into Lily's arms when she saw there was nobody there.  
Nic looked around. The actual ships were of course anchored in deeper water, so he had to strain to see which one was the Lady Nikkei.  
All of a sudden, Nic heard the clash of metal on metal, and turned around just in time to see a black and lavender blur streak past him and all the way down the pier. A giant man who towered over even Vlad pushed past Nic, and Vlad and Kat drew their swords. Lily pulled two small daggers out from somewhere.   
Near the end of the pier, a woman was crouching defensively. Her black hair was tied up loosely behind her head, and her lavender tunic and trousers blew in the breeze. She was holding a sword. Nic realized immediately that this was Sera, and that he had to do something about the man slowly advancing on her.  
Kat, Vlad and Lily lunged at the same time, but Nic stayed behind and observed the man. If there was one thing he was good at, it was this. He could make it so much easier for one of the people with actual weapons to land a hit.  
Nic took three strides and jumped onto the giant's back, then clung there, covering his eyes. This gave Vlad the opportunity to grab the man's hands and pin him to the ground. Nic jumped off. He'd practised that move at least a hundred times in his dreams, but it felt good to finally do it in real life on a person. Trees weren't exactly the best fighting buddies. Lily looked absolutely shocked it hadn't taken any more effort to bring him down.  
Sera hadn't noticed anybody other than Nic yet, and was breathing hard. Nic got up and receded to where the others were standing.  
Then Sera spotted Kat.  
They stared at each other for a heartbeat, and then Kat flew into Sera's arms.  
"You're here, you're here," Sera was sobbing. Their tears mingled on their faces as they kissed. It was so incredibly touching Nic felt his own eyes misting up. Beside him, Vlad was blinking a bit too hard for it to be natural, and Lily was wiping at her face. Even the goon they had just brought crashing to the wooden pier seemed to appreciate the moment.  
When Kat and Sera broke apart, Lily turned to Nic. "How did you do that? I've never seen anything like it, but you pretty much brought him to the ground yourself. I did nothing, and Vlad only pulled him down. What happened?"  
Nic shrugged. "I'm observant. Plus, I've used that move hundreds of times while climbing trees.


	6. Chapter 6

Lily looked at him for a second, then shrugged and turned away again.  
Sera embraced Lily, then turned to Vlad.  
"Do...Goldie or Mir know you're coming?"  
"No. They have no idea. And...I don't want to worry them, so I won't go to them."  
"Vlad, they're your family. So much more than your parents. I understand if you don't want to see Altrian and Zoe...but at least see your brother and foster sister. They miss you."  
Vlad turned away. "It's too dangerous for Lily. Someone might see her."  
"Fine. I can't force you to. But...remember your manners and introduce me to the new guy, please?"  
Vlad blinked. "Um. This is Nic."  
Nic grasped Sera's hand. "That's the second time they've forgotten to introduce me- probably they're planning on making it a habit."  
Sera laughed. "I like you. You'll make a good addition to the team."  
Kat coughed. "Aaanyway...let's get to the ship. We've wasted enough time already.   
"I wouldn't call it wasted, exactly..." Sera said, kissing Kat on the cheek.   
Kat turned beet red and jumped into the boat. "LET'SGO."  
Nic climbed in as well, holding the parcel of supplies Lily handed to him. Vlad sat next to Nic, and Sera and Lily rowed.   
"The crew is on the boat," Sera explained as they made their steady way towards where the ships were anchored. "I went out to check on something I thought might interest Cody at the last minute."  
"What was it?" Lily asked absentmindedly.   
"A dagger the shopkeeper said was enchanted. But it turned out to be perfectly normal."  
"What happened back there? Why were you being chased by that guy?" Nic asked.  
"I...don't actually know," Sera admitted. "He seemed to recognize me, but I've never seen him before."  
Everyone sat in silence, pondering this, until they reached the ship.   
As Sera attached hooked ropes the crew had dropped down to the rowboat, Nic remembered something. There had been something on his vest...some sort of symbol. It had been bloodred and resembled some kind of crossed daggers...Nic shoved the thought aside when they were pulled up and onto the deck. He was on a ship! A real sailing ship!  
It was magnificent. Although not quite as large as some of the other warships anchored there, it was spotless and obviously well cared for.   
Sera signalled somebody, and somebody secured the rowboat and raised the anchor. Three others clambered up the rigging and lowered the sails, which caught the warm breeze and the vessel began moving quite suddenly.   
Sera smiled. "No matter how much time I spend sailing her, I never get tired of leaving the harbor. It's such an amazing sight, especially on a sunny day like this.  
Nic had to agree. Knights and tradesman who had come through his village had tried to describe the ocean, but this was truly beautiful.  
Lily woke Nic and Sera from their reverie by asking where they'd be sleeping tonight.   
"Oh, right. I have rooms for you, follow me."  
The four of them followed Sera into a room set slightly apart from her room.


	7. Chapter 7

"Sorry there's only one room," Sera apologised. "But I think it will be big enough for the three of you. There's two bunks, and you guys can use my dressing room."  
Lily watched as Nic collapsed onto a bed and was fast asleep in seconds. Vlad scooped him up and moved him into a more comfortable position and arranged a blanket over him.  
Kat nudged Sera, who nodded and giggled. Lily was confused- what were they laughing about? It was a nice gesture. She shrugged the thought off and climbed back above deck.  
Inhaling the tang of the salty air, Lily felt at peace. She'd grown up in a port town, and the feeling of having her long hair swept back in the wine was something that had always given her instant happiness.   
They were far away from the shore now, and only a distant blob of green marked the city they'd departed from. In a few minutes all that could be seen in any direction was the sparkling, blue-green ocean and the vast blue sky.  
Lily started to walk towards the ropes, then stopped and ran back to the cabin. A minute later she emerged wearing a beige tunic and grey-green leggings. She sauntered over to the mast, where two sailors were standing.  
The first was a slight woman with caramel skin and black hair tied up in two buns behind her head. The other was a man with blue and purple streaks in his hair who seemed to be pissed about something.

King Goldie was annoyed. His advisor, Banfit, was throwing a fit again.  
"Papers lost, tailors sent home, party planners locked in closets- don't you WANT to get married?!" Banfit shrieked, chasing him through the corridors.  
"No," Goldie said shortly. "I don't. And I don't see why you make such a fuss about it, when Miral gets to wander around doing whatever she likes."  
"Princess Miral is just that- a princess. She is not the king and therefore it is not her responsibility to make alliances through marriage!"  
"She's the heir, though."  
"And when you are beheaded, her beau will become king. But thankfully your head is still screwed on tight and so we must! Throw! A ball!"  
It was Banfit's latest brilliant idea. Throw three balls and invite all the eligibles in the kingdom, and some foreign princes and princesses besides. Goldie could choose whomever he liked to be the next queen. Goldie hated it.  
Brushing off Banfit with promises of costume fittings and cake arrangements, he wandered out of the castle, heading for Storiman's Antique Shop.  
It was undoubtedly the least fashionable place in the city (besides perhaps the fish market). Old Storiman disliked the royals who swept by in their feathers and furs, and made it a point to never upgrade his shop to keep up with the current fashions in building, and so, tucked between two prim, painted houses, was Storiman's Antiques. Goldie liked it there because nobody would bother him, and also one of his best friends worked there.

Cody was balancing two large, ornate vases in both hands, and another on his head, when he heard the door jangle.   
"Need a hand with that?" Goldie called to him through the mountains of artifacts and oddities.  
"Yes, please," Cody said thankfully. Goldie took the vase off his head and examined it while Cody placed the other two on a table with some rocks and some sort of golden coffin.   
Goldie peered into it. "What is this?"  
"Bone china, we think. Sera got them on her last voyage."  
"Oh. Where is she now?"  
Cody waved his hand vaguely. "Some place or other. I haven't gotten a letter in weeks. Last I heard, she was headed back from the Horhopoisa Jungle. Found some caves with a dragon, or something."  
Goldie hesitated, then spoke cautiously. "And- and Vlad?"  
Cody placed a hand reassuringly on Goldie's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure he's safe."  
"Miral's started a betting pool with some of the stable boys and maids on how long it'll take him to get back."  
There was an awkward silence, then Cody asked,   
"How is Miral, by the way?"  
Goldie grinned. "Asking about your crush, hmm?"  
"N-no! I just want to know!" Cody was a tomato.  
Just then, Mr. Storiman pushed through the door, back from his lunch break.  
"Cody? Did you find the last of the- oh, hello, your majesty. Nice to see you again."  
Goldie gave a short bow to the old man and grabbed a crate of artifacts. "Come on, let's get these unloaded."

The voyage went smoothly until the fifth day. Nic and Vlad got to know the crew, Lily practically became one with the ocean, and Kat and Sera were the stereotypical adorable couple and literally everyone teased them about it.  
And then the storm came.  
It started when Arti, the girl with the black hair in buns, came scrambling down from the crow's nest talking about huge gray clouds on the horizon. Sera waved it off.  
"It's fine, guys. Anyway, the Lady Nikkei has faced worse than a little storm...back to work, everyone!"  
When the storm actually hit, it was only a gentle rain. Nic and Kat spent the entire time playing cards below deck ("Rain is evil and water will be the death of us all") but Lily, Sera and Vlad played around outside.  
When the storm picked up, the whole crew came out to try and control the sails.  
And then the mast broke.  
It happened so suddenly that Sera barely had enough time to get out of the way as the wind raged around them and the waves washed in great sheets over the deck.  
Nic and Lily stumbled up the deck, eyes stinging from the wind. Nic clung to the railing of the ship and tried to fight the wind when suddenly a huge wave loomed over the ship and washed Kat overboard.  
Sera screamed, her voice barely audible over the roaring of the storm, and jumped over the railing after her. A few seconds later, a pole formerly connected to one of the sails crashed down and hit Nic squarely on the head. The last thing he remembered was Vlad reaching desperately for his hand, the feeling of his body hitting the water, and blackness. 

Princess Miral of Altria was having a great day, unlike her older brother the king.  
It was just one of those days when everything seemed to be going right for her- completely opposite to Goldie, who had just found out he was going to be engaged by the end of the week.  
They'd been at breakfast when the royal advisor, Banfit, had rushed in screeching about it. Miral had felt sympathy for her brother, but it was raining outside (Miral's favorite weather) and Cody'd sent her a bouquet of blue paper roses. She just didn't have it in her to be sad at the moment.  
The rest of the day passed in a flurry of costume fittings for the two balls and the masked ball (all of which Miral thoroughly enjoyed- one of her dresses was a layered ocean blue with flecks of green, the other regular dress was a deep emerald the exact shade of her eyes, with a short cape and matching comb for her hair, and for the masked ball she was to be dressed as a dragon).   
Miral finally fell into bed, exhausted but happy, and fell asleep instantly.


	8. Chapter 8

As usual, the dreams came.  
Miral appeared in the clearing like she always did, and sat down to wait for Nic.  
It only took a few minutes before he appeared too, but not in a flurry of light like he usually did- instead, he burst out of the stream gasping.  
Miral rushed over instantly and hauled him out, and they both collapsed onto the grass.  
"What happened?" Miral yelled as soon as she could speak.  
Nic sat up and burst into tears. She scrambled forwards quickly. "Wait, no, I didn't mean to yell, please don't cry, Nic..."  
Nic nodded tearfully. "It's not your fault, Mir. But I'm probably going to die soon, along with the rest of the ship."  
"Wh-what?" Miral paled. "What do you mean, die?"  
"I got thrown overboard, and several other people did too. I didn't mean to fall asleep- I'm unconscious right now. Probably at the bottom of the ocean."  
"You're in a SHIP? Headed where?!"  
Nic furrowed his brow. "...I think Lily said Altria? Not that I know where that is or even where we came from. It doesn't matter now anyway."  
Miral got up and started pacing. "Absolutely not. It's not too late to give up hope, I think you'd be gone by now if you were already dead. And I refuse to let you go when you're so close to meeting me for the first time ever."  
"You live in Altria?"  
"Yeah. I assume you're heading to the capital?"  
"Uh...yes? I think?"  
"Great. Did anyone jump overboard after you?"  
Nic thought for a second. "No...wait, yes. Vlad was reaching for me when I blacked out? So maybe. The ship was a wreck anyway, it wouldn't do him much good to stay ON."  
Miral's eyes snapped to him. "Vlad?"  
Nic nodded.  
Miral sank to her knees and grabbed Nic's hands. "Black hair, pink eyes, looks like he could beat up a whole army but actually has a soft spot for literally every animal on earth?"  
"...yes? How'd you know"  
Miral collapsed back onto the grass again. "That bastard."  
"W-what?"  
"He has the AUDACITY to leave and now he's so close to coming home and his ship's been wrecked? I'm pretty sure I'll be angry at him for the rest of my life."  
"Don't do that, he did save my life after all. And wait, how do you know him?"  
"He's my brother. My long-lost, idiotic brother, who gave up the throne of a kingdom for a good adventure. But if he did save your life I guess I can forgive him...after I punch him in the face."  
"Your brother?! The THRONE OF A KINGDOM?!"  
"...Yeah, I can see how that would be confusing."  
"It really is! Please explain!"  
Miral sat up, straightened her hair, and cleared her throat. "My name is Princess Miral II of Altria. I am second in line for the throne after King Goldie of Altria, my older brother."  
Nic was speechless. Miral twisted her fingers in the grass awkwardly.  
Nic finally regained his voice. "Um. Ok then! You're a princess. This doesn't change anything, right? We're still best friends? I don't have to call you Your Highness or something?"  
Miral grinned and hugged him.

"I was hoping it wouldn't. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner...I was worried you'd treat me differently if you knew I was royalty."  
Nic shrugged. "I've known you practically my whole life. You don't treat ME any differently because I'm a peasant. And like you said, we're still best friends."  
There was an awkward silence.  
Miral coughed. "Sooo. You're kind of drowning?"  
"Right. Forgot about that," Nic muttered. "I'm not too worried about the short-term, Vlad's pretty strong, and we're kind of close to some land I think? But it's all cliffs, so the boat can't anchor."  
Miral thought for a second. "I'll send a friend of mine to find you on horseback if he can. Just try to stay alive, ok?"  
Nic smiled warmly and the two hugged. "Don't worry. Fate wouldn't have given us each other if we were never destined to meet."

Miral woke up and nearly fell out of bed. He was so close! So close to her and yet so far away.  
Obviously, the princess disappearing in the middle of the night would cause problems. She'd have to get Cody.  
Miral ran down the street, cape and nightdress billowing around her ankles, teeth chattering at the slight chill.   
It took about ten, maybe fifteen minutes, but she made it to the shop, grabbed a pebble and threw it at the second floor window of Cody's bedroom.  
"Cody!" Miral whisper-hissed. "Cody are you awake?"  
A head emerged from the window. "Wha...do you know what time it is, Mir?   
"Yes, and it can't wait. This is a life or death situation, Nessie."  
"A real one, or are you exaggerating again?"  
"A real one. As in, my best friend is drowning and I need you to go save him."  
"Wh...I'll be right down, I guess? If you're certain this is an emergency."  
"Don't worry about that, Ness. Worry about the people freezing to death or maybe drowning, I'm not sure at this second, below the cliffs because you were too slow getting dressed."  
Cody's head retreated back through the window, which shut promptly after him.  
There was a crash and something broke, and a second later a very disheveled (and tired) Cody stepped out the front door.  
"Alright, now who's dying. You mentioned a best friend? I thought that was me!"  
"Ha ha. This is no time to joke around, Nic is dying."  
"Who is dying?"  
"Nic is dying! I've mentioned him before, I'm sure. But you can meet him later...if he survives." Miral looked at Cody intently.  
"Wow, ok, ok. You seem serious about this. I'll take Lancelot to the cliffs. Do I need rope? How many miles?"  
"Six. It should take you an hour if you hurry."  
"From here, or the beginning of the cliffs."  
"Here. I have to go back to the palace now. Please, please get them out safe..."   
Miral turned, walked a couple paces, stopped, and whirled back around into Cody's arms.  
"And please," she whispered. "Please come back safe yourself."  
Cody didn't say anything, but hugged her tighter.  
A few seconds later, they broke apart- Miral heading back to the palace, and Cody running to the stables.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammarly says my tone is "worried". Yeah I should think so

Nic woke up unable to breathe, see, or move.

This probably worried him less than it should have. For one thing, he was facing downwards, into the depths of the ocean...and that was all. Not being able to move or breathe are very big problems for all forms of life on earth.

It was all fine, though. Somebody's arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, and he could feel the swirls of water created by their frantically kicking feet.

It took about thirty seconds more, and Nic was on the brink of passing out again, but his head finally broke the surface and he could see and breathe again.

Still no moving though. That might be a small problem that he'd address later, but for now, he and Vlad (that was who had rescued him) were being tossed around on the waves in the middle of a storm. One might even say, a mild hurricane? Sera had told him about this- the cliffs had some special magical property that churned up massive storms, even with the lack of warm water.

Vlad shouted something to him, but it was lost over the crashing waves and thunder. Nic tried his best to hold on to his friend, but his muscles seemed to be very much against that goal.

Suddenly, a massive wave reared up behind them. Nic's eyes widened the tiniest amount, and he could feel Vlad tense.

The water crashed down with deadly fury, and Nic was torn from Vlad's grip-

Only to wash up on a beach.

It wasn't comfortable, to say the least, and his friends were gone.

Maybe Miral or the person she sent would find him dead there in weeks. Maybe nobody ever would. Maybe-

"Nic!" A faint voice, hoarse from saltwater and yelling, coming from somewhere back out on the ocean, or maybe right in his ear. "Nic! Lily! Where are you!"

Nic tried to say that he was ok, he was alive, but nothing came out.

Vlad swam, blinded by salt, through the waves. He yelled desperately, but nobody answered.

All of a sudden, something swept by him, and he grabbed on frantically.

It turned out to be the back of Lily's tunic, and her by extension. Lily tried to get away at first but once she saw who it was she clung tightly to him and-

WHOOSH!

The two of them were swept into a small gap in the cliffs, not quite a cave because of the lack of sailing, but definitely not a full beach. A mini-beach?

As soon as Vlad regained his breath, he realized Nic was lying unmoving a few feet away.

Lily and Vlad lurched to their knees and stumbled over to him.

Lily put her ear to Nic's chest and listened for a heartbeat.

"He's alive," she breathed in relief. "Just unconscious."

Vlad fell back onto the sand.

"Thank goodness." There was a pause. "Do you think Kat, Sera, and the rest made it out ok?"

"I really, really hope so. They got washed overboard before us, it's likely they were pushed further down the shore. Hopefully, closer to Altria."

Nic blinked.

Wait.

Blinked?

Ok, yes, the feeling was slowly coming back to his body. He could move his eyelids ever so slightly and breathe a bit deeper than he could have a moment ago. However, Nic still couldn't move his arms or legs, or for that matter make any sounds.

"So. Now what," Vlad said from over to the left. "This cliff is what, a hundred feet?"

"Two hundred," Lily replied grimly. "And even though don't have a rope, we might have been able to scale it by ourselves. But Nic can't hold on to one of us while we climb, and the danger of him falling is too great to risk it."

Vlad groaned. "Maybe you could go find help, while I stayed here with Nic?"

There was the rustle of fabric. Nic assumed Lily was shaking her head. 

"No. I have no idea how to get to the city from here, and once I got there I wouldn't know who was safe to ask for assistance."

There was silence for a few seconds, then Nic was pulled closer to Vlad. He welcomed the warmth, his head resting in the crook between Vlad's neck and head, the rest of his body draped across the taller boy's lap. 

Lily coughed. "That's cute and all, but seriously, what are we going to do. We're fine for the moment, but what happens when we get hungry or thirsty? What then?"

Nic could feel Vlad exhale. "I guess...then we can try one of us climbing out. And if that person doesn't come back, the other can pull Nic out and find shelter in the forests a couple of miles away. Only as a last resort, though. For now...let's sleep."

"I'll take first watch." 

Nic was already drifting off. Miral probably wouldn't be there, but it didn't matter- he was pretty tired. At least it would be easy for whoever Miral sent to find them, Nic thought as the world faded yet again.

~

Cody was exhausted. For Anikate's sake, why did Miral need to have an emergency in the middle of the night? Of course, he would do anything for her, but it was at least one in the morning, and he was an early riser. This was not his idea of a good night. 

For now, as he rode Lancelot through the flower meadows that bordered the cliffs, Cody entertained himself with thoughts of what the people he was heading to save looked like. 

Cody had met Miral when he was twelve and he was eleven. They had bonded quickly over their shared interest in theater, even though she was a princess and he was a florist's son, and the two were soon inseparable. 

About a year into their friendship, Miral had mentioned her strange dreams to him.

"His name is Nic," she'd said. "He's my other best friend, besides you of course." 

Cody had gotten more information out of her over the years, although Miral had always been secretive about him.

He had bright red hair. He loved animals- and all of them loved him back, but not insects. He grew up in a village deep in some forest.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *nervous laughter*  
> So I may have removed the Miral/Cody tag...  
> I felt it didn't really fit in this situation. This is supposed to be more about Nic and his journey, and having loads of cute Ciral moments got in the way.  
> Also, I want to try pairing Miral up with someone else for a change. Some gorgeous courtier or smth
> 
> (FRIENDS CAN SEND EACH OTHER FLOWERS JDSFJHSDKFJBH IM NOT CUTTING THAT)

Cody stared at Vlad. "Vlad? What in Anikate's name are you doing here?"  
Lily stepped between them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Vlad...random guy who I just fought...you know each other?"  
"I...yeah," Vlad said hesitantly. "We know each other. He's my sister's best friend-"  
"Almost," Cody interrupted. "Almost her best friend. That title belongs to somebody else. You would have known that...but you left."  
Vlad flinched. "Sorry about that."  
"How could you POSSIBLY have thought running away was a good idea? You could have just abdicated if you didn't want the throne."  
"I didn't think things through. And by the time I had, I was already across an ocean."  
"...fine. I'll accept that excuse for now. But only because I know Miral'll give you a black eye or two later."  
Lily watched the exchange with wariness, and after they were done waited a few seconds before speaking. "So hold up, what did Princess Miral want? I mean, I know she's Vlad's sister or something, but we didn't tell anybody we were coming, much less that we'd been shipwrecked along this exact stretch of cliffs this many miles from the city."  
Cody opened his mouth, then closed it and thought for a moment. "Actually, I have no idea. She just told me I had to take the fastest horse I could find along the cliffs to look for someone named Nic."  
Vlad would have thrown his hands up if he weren't holding Nic. "That makes even less sense! Nic only just joined us, and he came from a village in the middle of a forest. There's no way he knows the princess of a kingdom he's never been to personally."  
Cody grinned at that. "I guess it has been a while since you've seen your sister, huh. You've probably forgotten over the years...but she'll explain when we get back to Altria. Come on, let's get going before the storm gets any worse."

They made their way up the cliff slowly but surely. Lily almost fell once, and Vlad hit his head on the rocks a couple of times by accident, but they made it to the top after about an hour.  
It took forty-five minutes from there to walk back to the city- not everyone would fit on Lancelot at once. By the time they got back, the storm had hit.  
I will not mention anything that happened on the way back, because it was literally nothing. They sat in awkward silence for the better part of an hour and tried to avoid getting blown away by the wind. There would have been crickets in any other situation- but they'd all taken refuge from the storm.  
So yeah, we'll skip to roughly 2:45 in the morning. The group had made it back to the antique shop dripping wet and freezing, but alive. Nic was sadly still asleep. Lily, Cody and Vlad were sitting in the only clear spot on the floor, surrounded by a sea of junk that stretched over their heads, waiting until sunrise to head to the palace.  
Vlad picked up a stone with several intricate carvings on either side. "Wait, I recognize this."  
Lily stared at it. "Isn't that the first thing we stole together?"

Vlad turned it over in his palm. "Yup."  
"Remember that sheriff guy?" Lily giggled. "I wonder how long it took for him to get out of that armour."  
Cody stared at the two of them in shock. "YOU'RE the ones? Sera told me she got it from professionals but I had no idea it was you."  
Vlad tossed the rock from hand to hand. "If you'd known it was us, you might have been able to track our movements and eventually find us by graphing the places we'd stolen from."  
"Smart," Cody whistled. "Anyway, we should probably get going. Miral hasn't come yet so she's probably not going to...let's head to the palace instead."  
Vlad gulped audibly.

Nic had regained consciousness at about the same time Lily and Vlad had, but decided to entertain himself by playing poker with himself. For some reason, he lost fifteen games in a row?  
When Cody mentioned heading to the palace, however, he put his imaginary cards down and paid attention.   
Oh, yes, Nic thought. Finally.   
At this point, Nic really could have walked himself- but it was pretty fun being carried. Both Lily and Vlad were stronger than him, and they'd alternated between the two of them on the way there.  
Another couple minutes of being draped over Lily's shoulder, and the trio stopped, presumably in front of the palace gates (Nic was facing back towards the way they came, and couldn't see where they were going).  
There was an awkward silence, then Lily spoke.   
"So. Now what? Because those look like some very high gates. And there's so many weird slippery-looking patterns I don't think even I could climb it. And I was-"  
"The best climber in your village, yes I know," Vlad interrupted. "And I haven't been here in years, but I think the same secret passageways are there, right Cody?"  
"Most of them. The one under the north fence was filled in for some reason. Probably Goldie's fear of the swamp man."  
Lily scoffed. "Swamp man?"  
"Some fairy tale Miral used to love," Cody said and yeah, Nic remembered that. She'd been obsessed with it. "It scared Goldie out of his mind, though. He had nightmares for so long..."  
Vlad sighed audibly. "If we can't go under, let's go over. West tree or East tree?"  
"West tree," Cody replied. "One of the branches reaches straight up to the upper windows in the foyer."  
After a few minutes of awkwardly walking in silence, they came to the East tree- one of the tallest trees that bordered the palace gates, to the East of the entrance.  
Nic shifted awkwardly in Lily's arms. He could move a little bit, but his voice wasn't back yet and his eyes were nearly shut.   
The climb over the palace wall was uncomfortable to say the least. Nic was jostled, branches caught in his hair, and he was scraped by the rough stones that made up the wall when Lily jumped down.   
Thunder boomed somewhere in the distance. The storm was moving inland- they'd made it to shelter before it was too late.  
Lily carefully propped Nic against a wall and flopped down on the floor.


End file.
